Head south from Calgary, through the rangelands of Cowboy Country to where the plains meet the foothills, and you’ll find a place steeped in First Nations history. Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump is a UNESCO World Heritage Site that tells the story of the hunting practice of the native people of the North American plains – a technique used for the best part of 6000 years. Local indigenous people had such a great understanding of the region’s topography and bison behaviour that they were able to hunt bison by stampeding them over a cliff, before carving up their carcasses ready to be butchered.
Once you’ve taken in all that the UNESCO site has to offer, there’s still plenty more to see in this neck of the woods. The historic town of Fort Macleod, founded as a Northwest Mounted Police barracks in 1892, is a quaint place to get a feel for the old west. While back in Calgary you can explore Canada’s largest living history museum, Heritage Park, which escorts you from the present day back into the 19th and 20th centuries. Inside there’s Gasoline Alley Museum, where a cornucopia of vintage vehicles are on show; the Conklin Lakeview Amusements Antique Midway, with its old-fashioned Ferris wheels and carousels; and a rather kitsch historical village where you can chat to costumed characters.
If you’re after a high-altitude experience without the knee-crunching descent of a mountain trek, the Zipflyer is your ticket to the clouds. Located on a hilltop in Sarangkot, this 1.8-kilometre aerial runway drops 600 metres and reaches speeds of up to 120 kilometres an hour. The ride is touted as one of the longest, steepest and fastest lines in the world, but it’s the unparalleled views of Machapuchare (aka Fish Tail) and the Annapurnas that will leave you breathless. It’s a bumpy drive to the launch platform, but that’s soon forgotten as you buckle in and the countdown begins. Embrace gravity’s inescapable tug as you hurtle through the air, feeling awe wash over you as you behold the spectacular panorama of leafy valleys and snow-capped vistas ahead, no trekking boots required.
Presided over by rugged mountains, the gleaming, whitewashed old town of Mutrah is undoubtedly one of Muscat’s most scenic spots. The canopy of roofs is punctuated by the cerulean blue of qubba (mosque domes) and the odd minaret, from where the call to prayer echoes out. And come nightfall it’s a beautiful place for a stroll, the light from the low-rise buildings glimmering on the gently lapping waters of the Gulf of Oman.
The city’s old commercial centre, Mutrah is still a hive of a activity and well worth an afternoon stroll along the curled lip of its corniche – the gulf on one side and delicately latticed buildings on the other. Although it’s part of the capital Muscat there’s a village-like feel to Mutrah, which is best observed by dawn’s first light at the fish market. But there’s plenty more to see besides: from the old Portuguese Mutrah Fort, built in the 1580s, to the green pocket that is Al Riyam Park, and the famed Mutrah Souk.
Exclusive access to one of the most pristine wilderness areas in the world you say? We’re in. The remoteness of Nanuk Polar Bear Lodge means you can witness the beauty and brutality of Mother Nature up close on a Hudson Bay Odyssey tour, for there’s no other human presence within 160 kilometres.
As the name suggests, this lodge is set in the very heart of polar bear country. Your daily excursions around the Cape Tatnam Wildlife Management Area that surrounds the lodge will not only bring you (safely) face to face with polar bears, but also with wolves and black bears. It’s the unique convergence of eco-systems – whereboreal forest meets the Subarctic beside the coastal waters of the Hudson Bay – in Manitoba that allows so much local flora and fauna to flourish.
Lauded as one of the most beautiful of its kind in the world, the Buchart Gardens in Victoria is a must-do on any trip to British Columbia. Established in the early 1900s, the attraction is still owned by the same family – current owner and managing director Robin-Lee Clarke is the great-granddaughter of the founding couple. And the floral show is pretty impressive: each year over a million bedding plants in some 900 varieties offer uninterrupted bloom from March through October.
Upgrade your ride home – and make the most of the coast – by taking a floatplane back from Vancouver Island to the city. The 35-minute ride offers aerial views of Vancouver, the Gulf Islands and Victoria Harbour.
You could be forgiven for thinking you’re exploring Australia’s Great Ocean Road or cruising California’s west coast when you sink your toes into the sand at Ras al Jinz in Oman. Beautiful rock formations fringe this beach on the east of the Arabian Peninsula, but if the golden cliffs aren’t enough of a drawcard, the endangered green sea turtles that return each year to nest most certainly are.
Protected by the Omani government, the only way to see these grande dames – some of the largest turtles in the world – laying eggs or the little tykes hatching is on a group tour, departing from the Ras al Jinz Turtle Centre each morning and night.
Evening expeditions are conducted by torchlight, so be sure to stick close to your guide to learn all about the turtles’ lifecycle and the predators they face. Be sure arrive early or stick around after to explore the interactive museum that gives details about the eco-tourism project and to visit the research labs on site.
Follow in the footsteps of endangered western lowland gorillas on a safari in the Republic of Congo. Not for your novice hiker, this expedition with Natural World Safaris leads you through remote rainforests of Odzala–Kokoua National Park.
No two forays into the forest are ever the same, and you’ll follow expert trackers who monitor the gorillas’ habits closely, leading you to where they slept the previous night as the sun’s rays begin filtering through the canopy.
Covering distances of between five and eight kilometres, you’ll trail the gorillas, who can move at remarkably high speeds, through the undergrowth, until they stop to eat, shimmy up trees and stare at their human cousins who’ve followed them into the bush. Along the way watch out for all variety of monkeys, exotic birds and magnificent butterflies, as well as (if you’re lucky) forest elephants.
People often describe a gorilla encounter as one of the most emotional and humbling experiences of their lives. And it’s easy to see what attracted Spanish primatologist Dr Magda Bermejo here to study them as part of her groundbreaking research. Magda lives at Ngaga Camp and about 17 years ago began habituating two groups of the gorillas to her presence. More recently, they’ve also had to get used to the travellers who stay at the eco-friendly, rustic lodge in groups of four at any one time.
After two days of tracking gorillas, the adventure moves to Lango Camp, about four hours away. Travel along the local rivers in motorised pirogues (canoes) looking for buffalo, red river hogs, primates and bongos, a type of striped antelope, before arriving at jungle hides where you’ll watch the life of the forest unfold.
Oman can get hot. Really hot. And while the warmth makes the white-sand beaches all the more enticing, there’s another way to experience sweet relief from the sun; by travelling even closer to it. Head high into Jebel Akhdar, part of the immense Hajar Mountains, 2000-metres above sea level. Here a great canyon splits through rock and the temperatures drop more than 10°C.
At first glance the region’s name, which translates to Green Mountain, may seem a little misplaced. But on closer exploration you’ll uncover valleys of fertile soil with orchids growing pomegranate, walnuts, figs and succulent stone fruit – think juicy apricots, peaches and plums. Terraced hills are scattered with bursts of colour in the form of Damask rose bushes, with their petals destined to be distilled into Omani rose water, and later infuse local sweets and traditional cosmetics.
Ruins of mud-brick houses sit crumbling into the hills at Wadi Bani Habib, and date palms form oasis around them. This is the place to really get in touch with nature, and you’ll spot buzzing insects, vultures and warblers on a hike to the town and through the valley. After a couple of days exploring the mountain oasis of Jebel Akhdar that heat building up inside you will have dissipated, and you’ll be ready to embark back into the warmth of the lower grounds.
There’s something primal about observing bears in the wild. And witnessing these magnificent creatures in the remote lands of Russia is an experience unlike any other. Grassy Point, a tiny promontory on Kurilskoye Lake, is the largest spawning ground for red salmon in Eurasia, meaning the site is a gigantic bear magnet. Spot hundreds of animals crowding the banks as they hunt for their next meal during a helicopter tour to the region with 50 Degrees North.
Take in the views from a two-story A-frame timber lodge, complete with dining room and wrap-around verandah. From here, you can observe the graceful symmetry of Ilyinsky Volcano, whose peak touches the sky at 1578 metres, and a dozen other smaller mountains.
Spot bear cubs chasing each other across open meadows while their parents stalk salmon along the lake’s shore.
An African safari it isn’t – there are no jeeps or Land Rovers here. When you’re done animal spotting, a MI-8 chopper will whisk you off to the Gorely Volcano, a massive complex of five overlapping stratovolcanoes with 11 summit craters and another 30 on its flanks.
When it comes to whimsical castles and forts, Oman offers beauty that could have been lifted straight from the pages of a fairytale. With that in mind, you simply can’t visit without stopping in at Jabrin Castle. Located among the palm-fringed foothills of the Jebel Akhdar highlands, the beautifully preserved 17th-century castle – built by Imam Bil’arab bin Sultan of the Yaruba dynasty – has long been a revered institute for learning. Wander through its central courtyard and dip into one of the hundreds of hidden rooms adorned with intricately painted ceilings among its labyrinth of archways and watchtowers. If you’re up for the challenge, set out to discover Bil’arab bin Sultan’s crypt – an atmospheric final resting place with carved vaults and the gentle bubbling of the falaj (water channel) flowing below.
Can’t get enough? Just five kilometres from here is the striking Bahla Fort. A fortress of astounding proportions, it is not only the oldest (built some 800 years ago by the Banu Nebhan tribe), but also the largest of its kind in Oman. Its stone foundations and surrounding 11 kilometres of fortified unbaked mud-brick walls, and the edifices within it, are thought to be among the finest Omani architecture of the medieval period. However, its disintegration over the years meant it was almost lost to the sands of time, that is until it was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987 – the only fort to be awarded such a title in the entire country. In the following two decades the site was restored to its former glory, before finally reopening to the public in 2012.
There’s little in the way of tourist information or exhibit displays, which means you’ll have to do your homework before you arrive, but it also leaves your mind free to wonder and imagine the various histories that took place among Bahla’s twisted alleyways, souqs and within the alcoves of its sand-coloured walls.
(
